Wheel.



PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1908.

l. W. MEIXELL.

WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED PEB, 17, 1906.

A @Mey JOHN W. MEIXELL, OF LEWISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 8, 1908.

Application filed February 17, 1906. Serial No. 301,596.

v Toy all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1 JOHN W. MEIXELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lewisburg, in the county of Union and St ate ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Wheel, of which the'following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wheels, andhas particularreference to that class of wheel employed in connection with themotor-car or automobile.

The objects of the invention are to provide a new and improved means forsecuring the tire upon the wheel; and to this end the invention maybe'said to consist in airing cinployed internally with relation to thecasing of the tire and conforming at its sides to the internal surfacesor walls of the tire-base and of somewhat greater diameter than the rimof the tire, and, therefore, when used in connection with a tireclamping means, to be ca pable of automatically adjusting itself to'anyuneven pressure exerted by said tire clampingmeans, with the result thata secure. and uniform clam ing pressure is secured en tirely around t ewheel. i 7 The invention' further consists in so constructing said ringas to render it capable of contraction and .expansion laterally, wherebyit will ada t itself to any variations in thickness of t e bases intires of different makes, and also to support the tire and preventrimcutting when the tire has become deflated from puncture or other causes.And finally, the invention inay be said to` consist in a hollow ortubular rim s o constructed as to lend strength and rigidity as well assecure lightness in weight, and iu providing` for the tissagetherethrough of the usual clampingolts, all as will more specificallyhereinafter ap ear and be pointed out in the claims.

ferring to the drawing, in which l. have represented a portion of myimproved wheel in transverse section, 1 designates the fclly, and 2 thetubular steel rim, though, as will hereinafter appear, ther-im may be of`other form and construction, if preferred. 1n the presentinstance,however, the rim is tubular or hollow, and comprises a centralflat outer treado'rtion 3, an upturned and inwardly curve wall 4, at oneedge, and at the opposite 'edge or side, a removablev clamping ring 5,also preferably tubular, of, a diameter adapting it to y edge oppositewhich the wall '4 is located, and having an inner formationcorresponding to snugly iit over the rim at the v that of the aforesaidwall. It will be understood'that theinner surfaces of the wall 4 and thering 5` a proximate in contour or shape the externa surfaccs'of thetire-hase, as is usual' in this class of mechanically fastened tires,and hence, the form or contour of the lWall and ring may be otherwisethan is hercin shown.

6 designates the casing of the tiro, the base of which has the internalinclincd walls or surfaces shown and the external heads 7, the latterbeing engaged 'by the wall 4 and corrcspending clamping-ring 5.

Within thc casing is the` usual inner tuhc S, and the saine is supportedby thc outer ilat wall of what I term an automatically or-sclf adjustingfloating-ring E), that is interposed within the space bounded by thctir'eerim, inner tube, and the opposite inclined walls of thc base ofthe casing. This floating-ring may be solid, but l prcfcr, for l'casoushereinafter apparcnt to make the saiuc tubular, and in cross-section,somewhat wedge-shaped. In thc present instance, therefore, it may bcsaid to consist of an outer dat trcad or ba\sc 10, an yinner narrowerwall 11, and'oppositd inclined c'onnectinor walls 12, thelatter twoyInf.y e5

converging toward the inncr wa11`11. order, also, that this ring may bercndcred capable of compression, l may provide an inclined slit 13longitudinally or annularly disposed throughout thc inner wall 11, or,in other words, form the innerv wall 1i in two parts the meeting edgesof which would prefcrably overlap andconstitutc a slip-joint, or anyother construction :may be substitutcd that will accomplish thc objectwithout materially weakening the ring.

A pcculiarity of the ring and one which renders the term or appellationfloatingring particularly applicable,is that the internal diameter ofthe ring is somewhat grcater than thc external diameter of the rim ofthe wheel. I am perfectly aware that internal rings of various forms incross-scction have heretofore been employed, but in all such as havecome under my ohservat ion, the internal diameter Vof the ringsubstantially agrees with the external diameter of thc rim, or, in otherwords thc difl'crcncc hctwcen thc diameters is onl)Y suilicicut topermit thc ring to slip laterally upon thc riux\.'hich hitter it -issupposed to more or loss accuraicly tit and lu mi' constriution,-

therefore rcst upon,

howcvcr, l. proie-r to construct thc ring with an internal diamctermatcriaih4 largcr than the external diameter oi' the tread-portion ofthe rim, so that were ,the two laced one within the other and centeredwith relation to each other there would be quite any appreciable annularspace between them.

In the present instance, the two opposite lwalls of the hollow ortubular rim 2 are at correspondingintervals provided with boltholes 14,through each pair of which are passed bolts 15. One end of each bolttern'iinates in an angularly disposed head 16, designed when turnedoutward. to Voverlap and engage the clamping-ring 5, and at its otherend is threaded to receive the usual nut 17. The diameter' oi the boltsmay a proximate the width of the space within t. .e hollow rim, or itmay beless, but i'li the'former arrangement be preferred, and I have soillustrated it, the said bolts will very materially reinforce the outerwall of the hollowV rnn.

As before suggested, my invention is not confined to the clampingorinechanical tastening means herein shown and described, but, te thecontrary, such means may be varied at will, the only essential beingthat such means be oi such character as will cause the base oi the tireto be thereby 'forced laterally so as to become engaged or clampedbetween such clamping-means and the sides of the floating-ring, thesides of the latter, it being understood being given such normaldisposition or contour as agrees substantially with that of the walls ofthe base of the tire.

With the nuts 17 loosened and the bolts slightly retracted and the heads16 turned inward, the clamping-ring 5, the tire, and internalfloating-ring 9, may all be readily slipped laterally o'm the rim. Onthe other hand, these parts may be as readily returned to position uponthe rim, the bolts partially rotated to reen-gage the clamping-ring andthe nuts retightencd upon the bolts. Right at this point thevery greatimportance of the floating-ring manifests itself,l for it willundoubtedly occur that in tightening the nuts some will be rotated andhence tightened more than others with the result that atl some pointsthe bases of the tire are clamped or oripped more securely than atothers. willJ be readily appreciated this is objectionable ior the tire1s thereby held more or less insecurely. By having the ring 9 ofsomewhat greater diameter lthan the rim, however, it will be 'apparent-th etwhere the clamp A 9 adjust itself automatically to anyirregularity in -the tension of the clamping means,

as mentioned, but in the event that the tire should become deiiated fromany cause, the

will also be evident th at the rin 9 being sup-l ported by the inclinedwalls of t e base of the tire, instead, as heretofore, by the unyieldingrim of the wheel, somewhat of' a cushion 1s ,provided which to someextent will absorb the shocks and reduce theY wear and tear u'pon thedeflated tire. The ring 9 mayor may not be compressible, as shown, andso far as this `feature alone is concerned, the ring maybe as shown or,as heretoforainfade to accurately fit the rim. lf, howver, the ring ismade eompressible -by the`means shown or otherwise, then it will beapparent'that its side-walls 12 will automatically 'adjust 'themselvesto various makes of tires approximating this design but having bases theinternal surfaces of which are disposed at more or less inclination.

lf the side Walls of the ring 9 are compressed, the beveled edges of thebottom of the ring will readily slip by one another or overlap, and whenreleased from the pressure of the clamping-means, will s ringl back orreturn to their original normainclination.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is.:

'1. ln a wheel, a rim tubular in. cross-seetion and having one edgeturned up to form a clainping-member and provided below the same atintervals with transverse registering bolt-holes, in combination with aremovable ring located at the opposite side of the rim at which saidturned up edge is located and forming the opposite clamping-member, and

a series of bolts located in the bolt holes and terminating at one endbeyond the rim in angular heads engaging the ring, said bolts being of adiameter agreeing with the space within the hollow rim whereby theyreinforce the, outer wall of said rim, and nuts for the ends of thebolts.

2. In-'a wheel, a'tubular rim, clamping-I means carried --by the rim,bolts .for the located between the bases of the tire and` substantiallywedge-shaped in cross-section, the inner wall oi." said ring beingprovided with an inclined slit thereby Iforming a lapjoint, whereby theside walls of the ring are capable of compression.

4. The combination with a wheel` provided clamping ring slightly largerthan and longitudinally, substantially las shown and' mounted on the-rimand free to slide laterally thereover, and transverse bolts for enlgaging the ring, of a ytire having its edges engaged bythe wall andring, and an internalring of greater diameter than the rim and`combining with. the latter to form an annular space' and locatedbetween the tire edges, said internal ring bein hollow and having its vinner wall provide lwith a continuous annular slit the ed es of whichoverlap.

- 5. The combination with a wheel embodying a rim, tire clamping meansand a tire enf gaged by said'mean's-,of an internal tubular ring locatedbetween the base vportions of the tire and comprisin an u per wall,downwardly convergin si e walls and an intermediate lower wa l, thelatter being divided described.

6. The combination with a wheel embodying a rim having clamping meansand a tlre engaged by said means, of a yielding tubular" ring 9 oflarger diameterthan the rim toleave a -space between the ingand rim,said vided with a rim having at one side one memring being locatedbetween the lower edges of the tire and comprising an u per wall,downwardly converglng side walls and an intermediate lower wall, thelatter being divided longitudinally, substantiallyas shown and for thepurpose set forth.

7. The combination witha wheel embodying Va rim having clampin means anda tire v. enga ed by said means, o a yielding tubular meta ring 9 ofslightly larger diameter than the rim yto leave a space .between the rimand ring, said rin beingv .located between the lower edgeso the tire andcomprising an up er wall, devnwardlyconver in side wals and anintermediate lower wa l, t e latand for the purposes set forth.

ter being divided longitudinally and the upper wall disposed above theup er edges of the clamping means, substantiafly as shown 8. In a wheel,the combination, of a tubular rim, clamping means carried by the rim,bolts for the clamping means passed laterally through correspondingopenings formed in the opposite sides or walls of the rim and of adiameter agreeing with' the distance bctween the walls of the rim, andclamping nuts for the clamping bolts, together with' aninter'naltubular, ring of slightIzy larger diameter than the rim and comprisingan u 9. The combination, wlthl a wheel rovided withl a flat rim havingat one si e a' fixed external tire-clamping wall, an oppositeclamping-ring slightly larger than and mounted on the rim and upon whichrim it is free to move laterally, and transverse bolts carried by thewheel and engaging said ring,l of a double tube tire having one of itsedges engaged by the wall and .its opposite edge engaged by said ring,and an internal ring of greater diameter than and mounted on lthe rimand combininv with the latter to form a space and located between thetirewal1s,sa1d ring comprising an outer annular wall supporting theinner tube of the tire and opposite converging side-walls conformngto te terminals of the outer case.

10. The combination, with a wheel prober of an external tire-clampingmeans, an opposite clamping-ring slightly larger than and mounted on therim and upon which I.per'wall, downwardly converging side wa ls rim saidring is free to move laterally and transverse bolts carried by the.wheel and engaging said ring,l ofl adouble tube tire having one of itsedges engaged by the said member of the external tire-'clamping meansand its opposite edge en aged by said'rin and an internal ring wit 'nthe tire loose y fitting over and spaced from the rim, said .in-

ternal ring comprisi an outer'transverse wall and opfposite wal s, thelatter converging and con case. v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. Y

JOHN w. MEIXEL'L. VVitnessesz PHILIP B. LINN, WM. R. FoLLMna orming tothe walls of the outer

